Announced as the number one university for student satisfaction in the UK this year, and boasting the best Students’ Union several years in a row, it’s pretty obvious that Sheffield students have it pretty good.

So whether you’re kicking back in Crookes Valley Park or coming to the end of your time in Endcliffe, here are some of the things only a true student of Sheffield will be able to tell you.

1. The IC

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Hate it or love it, the IC is the main library for the students of the University of Sheffield. Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, it’s there in the good times and the bad.

Every student in the steel city knows the woes of trying to find a desk in the six-floored building of doom. Thinking of arriving at 9am during exam period? Think again my friend as all the early birds exchange looks…’ha amateur’.

The IC is a dog eat dog world of chair stealing and delirium. It is Sheffield’s very own little hell, but it’s a hell us students all burn in together.

2. Corp on a Wednesday

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Many universities have a night that everyone attends religiously, be it for the sporty types or the ravers, however I doubt any are quite like a night at Sheffield’s Skool Disco in Corporation.

Corp, for short, occurs every Wednesday and you must dress-to-impress in your best shirt and tie. At first it is reminiscent of your year six days but the similarities end at the uniforms. Soon the quad vods appear in blue, green and purple and you quickly forget that you are standing in the grimiest room on earth.

Before my first night at corp I was told to dedicate a pair of shoes to being my ‘corp shoes’ and they weren’t wrong…the shoes left as an entirely different pair after a pickling in ‘corp juice’, supposedly a mixture of sweat, urine and barely-legal vodka.

For many students it’s an institution and being ‘corped’ is the highlight/lowlight of their week.

3. Craving a New Leaf

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Sheffield Students’ Union boasts many places to eat but none quite as spectacular as New Leaf. One of the busiest outlets in the union every lunch time, it now offers the option of pre-ordering your salads online to be picked up and paid for thus avoiding the snaking queue that leads out of the door.

Much like Subway, New Leaf allows you to choose your base and toppings and make the mother of all salads. Yes, it is just a salad, but the lettuce must be laced with something because it’s got the students of Sheffield hooked.

4. Riding the paternoster

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Often used as the landmark of choice to guide lost and bewildered newbies back towards safety, the Arts Tower is like a welcoming embrace when you finally reach it.

Inside the behemoth is something even better – the paternoster. It is a double whammy one of a kind – not only one of the last remaining paternosters in the world it is also the largest. For those not in the know, a paternoster is like a slow lift with no doors where people jump in and out as their floor is reached, it travels round in a continuous circuit and is a whole new world of fun.

On my first day exploring the campus with my tutorial group we rode around in a loop for over an hour. I’m sure that wouldn’t be a fun or useful use of my time now, but it is something every Sheffield student has on their to-do list.

5. Lady Bower reservoir and the peaks

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A ten minute drive out of the city takes you straight into the heart of the Peak District, not many universities can boast that on their CV.

Travelling towards Manchester takes you past the Rivelin dams and out to Lady Bower reservoir where many a joyful afternoon has been spent by stress free students frolicking at the water’s edge. The reservoirs are great for biking and hiking too with many of the university sports clubs making trips out there throughout term time.

Travelling the opposite way towards Hathersage takes students to the torrs and even more explorable terrain. The undergrads of Sheffield would be lying if they said they didn’t lust after the hills and open spaces every time the sun popped out.

6. Confusion at where the exams are

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Twice a year exams roll round and twice a year there is a collective, ‘I’ve got an exam where?!’ With so many courses and so many students to cater for, exams happen all over the shop. Literally.

I have still never seen the inside of the Philidelphia teaching centre but my nerves were definitely forgotten when sitting in the Hillsborough football stands before my first year exams, having never been in a football stadium before.

Exam time throws up some weird and wonderful stuff for the students of Sheffield, the perplexing venues being just the start.

7. Broomhill Friery

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A trip to Sheffield isn’t complete without a visit to the infamous Broomhill Friery. Run by Sean Beans’ nephew, Dan Bean, and home to the Sean Bean Burger it is a mecca for locals and students alike. Dan Bean is somewhat of a local celebrity these days, even boasting his own Agony Uncle column in the Sheffield Tab.

However, it hasn’t all gone to his head and he can still be found most week nights fulfilling the needs of the hungry students of Sheffield pining for a pile of chips and gravy.

8. The pride of knowing that you go to the number one university in the UK

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After winning the award for the best Students’ Union several years in a row, the students at University of Sheffield can now proudly say that they went to the number one overall University of 2014 according to Times Higher Student Experience Survey.

We are the happiest, most fulfilled and satisfied students in the UK. With great facilities, teaching and access to a plethora of activities and sports, being part of the top university in the UK is something only a Sheffield student can say this year.